By your go-to tech journalist at scotsphere AI who still asks Siri to set timers—and gets a weather forecast instead

Let’s face it: asking Siri to do anything in 2025 feels a bit like inviting your nan to DJ your house party. She means well. She’s trying. But she’s absolutely playing ABBA.

And with ChatGPT whispering sweet nothings from your browser tab and Google Gemini basically your new life coach, it’s fair to ask—has Apple just ghosted the AI revolution?

Well… not exactly. While it might look like Tim Cook missed the boat, what if Apple’s just been waiting for everyone else to crash theirs first?

From Trailblazer to Tail-Ender?

Let’s start with the obvious: Apple’s AI rep has taken a bit of a nosedive. Siri, once a pioneering digital assistant, now feels like she’s been frozen in carbonite since 2015. And while Microsoft’s Copilot is writing your pitch deck and Google’s Gemini is explaining quantum physics to your kid, Siri still stumbles over “remind me to call Mum.”

Even worse? Only 20% of iPhones can even run Apple’s latest AI features. That’s like launching a Netflix killer that only plays on DVD players. Not exactly the Silicon Valley flex we’re used to.

“Apple’s AI rollout looks cautious to the point of sleepy,” says Dr. Emeka Tunde, a digital transformation expert at FutureFrame. “But caution isn’t always incompetence. Sometimes it’s strategy in disguise.”

Apple’s Slow-Cooked AI Strategy

Let’s not forget: this is the same company that waited until the BlackBerry era had a hangover before dropping the iPhone—and obliterating the market.

So what’s Apple actually doing while the rest of Big Tech is hyping LLMs and bot-powered email?

One word: privacy.

While competitors vacuum up every keystroke to feed their AI appetites, Apple is betting on something different: keeping your data on your device, out of the cloud, and off their books. Their AI models run locally. And when they do need a server assist, they forget everything faster than your goldfish.

Call it paranoid. Apple calls it product design.

“In a post-GDPR world, Apple’s privacy-first AI may actually be its superpower,” notes Mei Lin Tan, Chief Data Officer at Ethica.ai. “We’re seeing rising demand for models that are powerful, yes—but also forgetful by design.”

One Platform to Rule Them All

Here’s where it gets interesting. Apple isn’t racing to build the flashiest AI tools itself. It’s turning the iPhone into the platform for them.

In 2025, Apple cracked open its on-device AI models to third-party developers. Now, with just a few lines of Swift, your favourite app can whisper to Apple’s AI under the hood—securely and privately.

It’s a move straight from Apple’s classic playbook. Remember when the App Store exploded because Apple didn’t try to build everything themselves? Same energy. New medium.

Combine that with their new partnerships—yes, they even invited ChatGPT to the Siri party—and you’ve got Apple acknowledging it can’t win AI alone… so it’s building the court everyone wants to play on.

A Surprising Stat for Your Brain’s RAM

Here’s a curveball for your next LinkedIn humblebrag:

Only 1 in 5 iPhones can even access Apple’s new AI features. That’s fewer than the number of people who still buy DVDs in 2025.

So while Apple might be building the safest AI playground in town, most users are still stuck outside the gates. And that’s a problem.

Because in the AI world, attention is everything—and users are already forming habits on other platforms.

The Bottom Line

Apple’s AI game isn’t weak. It’s just weird—on purpose.

They’re not building the flashiest demos or voice assistants that can rap in Klingon. They’re building infrastructure. Guardrails. A slow-cooked strategy based on trust, privacy, and letting developers shine.

But here’s the rub: AI moves at light speed. Apple moves like it’s doing tai chi in a zen garden. And the longer it waits, the harder it gets to change user behaviour, win developer love, or avoid becoming the next Nokia.

The next 12 months will be make or break. If Apple nails the landing, they’ll look like prophets. If not, Siri might become the world’s most overengineered egg timer.

What Should You Do About It?

Whether you’re Team Apple or just trying to stop missing client calls, the big picture is clear: AI is becoming invisible infrastructure. Quietly doing the work, making bookings, answering calls, and integrating with your everyday systems.

And that’s where scotsphere AI comes in.

We build enterprise-ready voice agents and workflow integrations that don’t just sound clever—they are clever. Want to see how an AI assistant can book appointments straight into your systems without compromising on trust or privacy?

Call us. Or better yet, let our AI agent answer.

Visit scotsphere.ai

Because the future of AI isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about listening smarter.